Tinenenji Chalanda

Economics lecturers at Catholic University of Malawi (Cunima) have described the country’s long-term strategy Vision 2020 as a shattered dream. The lecturers said this on Friday at the institution during a presentation of their yet-to-be published paper titled Vision 2020: A Shattered Dream. Vision 2020 is a long-term development strategy for Malawi which was…

Treasury has said it is upbeat on maintaining the wage bill within the approved levels by the end of the 2016/17 fiscal year despite a 7.4 percent over expenditure within the first half. In the 2016/17 Mid-Year Budget Review Statement, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe told Parliament last week that wages…

Malawi is expected to record a current account deficit of $1.11 billion (K810 billion) this year from the previous year’s $1.02 billion (K744 billion), figures from the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) show. The eight percent jump in current account deficit means that the country’s value in imports of goods, services and investment incomes is…

Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on Friday launched Everyone Must Pay Tax Campaign to improve tax compliance among businesses and individuals. During the campaign period from February to April 2017, MRA officials will engage businesses, civil society organisations and the media directly to help educate people on tax provisions, processes and procedures so that they…

The tourism sector could achieve higher growth and contribute more to the national economy if policymakers integrate the sector into sectoral policies so that it is prominent at all levels of decision-making, it has been learnt. Experts say tourism could be one of the fastest growing sectors in the country and surpass its current…

Local innovators have called for financial investments to promote and enhance the development of local innovations to help address the needs of Malawians. One of the innovators, Mixon Faluweki, the brains behind Padoko Charger-a bicycle-powered mobile charging device-said the country is lagging behind in providing materials to develop innovations. He said: “We do not…

It is clear that the second Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS II) failed to reduce food security problems in Malawi. Within the implementation period—2011 and 2016— the sector roughly grew by an average three percent against a target of six percent every year. According MGDS II review report, at implementation level, the provision …

One of the firms exporting through the African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa) to the United States (US) has decried the macroeconomic environment in Malawi and fears possible closure of the company should the situation not change. Win-Win Garments, a textile company operating in the Chirimba Industrial area in Blantyre, stated that due to the…

Although Malawi managed to export goods worth $37 million (about K26.64 billion) as of October 2016 to the United States (US) through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), the total level of exports through the market window seems to be on the decline. According to the information on Agoa website, the Malawi’s exports…

Bio-Energy Resources Limited (Berl), a Lilongwe-based company that was set to produce bio-fuel from jathropa seeds, has said there is nothing on the ground despite launching its operations five years ago. The company is said to have pumped in $2 million in 2012 (an equivalent of K1.4 billion at the current exchange rate) to…

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has said the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is dependent on following an integrated approach by taking into account the economic, social and environmental dimensions to ensure sustainable development. In an interview last week, UNDP economics adviser Alka Bhatia said last week SDGs are about national ownership,…

Economists have argued that the current socio-political environment is one of the contributing factors to slow progress the country is making in its quest to graduate into a middle income country. Based on the recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), Malawi is not on the list of countries…

High premium debts might further strain the general insurance sector’s weak liquidity position and compromise its ability to settle insurance claims on time, a financial stability report by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has shown. According to the report, liquidity for the sector generally worsened over the period between March and September 2016…

A financial stability report prepared by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) shows worsening levels in non-performing loans (NPLs) particularly among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The report, which covers the period between March and October 2016 indicates that credit risk remained a threat to the resilience of the banking system as NPLs, at…

Blantyre International University (BIU) Students Union has obtained an injunction against the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) and BIU, restraining the two institutions from interfering with programmes the university is offering until the courts make a further order. Lawyer representing the students Yasin Domasi has since confirmed the news. According to the injunction dated…

It would be tempting to argue that 2016 will end on a slightly good note, particularly because the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has reduced the policy rate—the rate at which commercial banks borrow from the central bank as the lender of the last resort—by three percentage points from 27 percent to 24 percent. RBM…

Economic experts have backed the free-floating exchange rate regime Malawi is currently implementing, saying it has pushed the economy out of the setbacks experienced during the fixed exchange rate regime. Malawi abandoned the fixed exchange rate regime in April 2012 after devaluing the kwacha by 49 percent and left it to be determined by…

The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) says the majority of people are not fully embracing the use of digital payments including mobile wallets such as TNM Mpamba and Airtel Money. In its National Payment System (NPS) reports from January to November this year, about 25 percent of the 3 million mobile money subscribers are…

The Electricity Supply Corperation of Malawi (Escom) says the introduction of light emitting diode (LED) bulbs will save more than 25 megawatts (MW) on consumption, which is equivalent to the generation capacity of Nkula A power plant. Escom Southern Region manager David Mbewe said this when he briefed journalists in Blantyre yesterday during the…

Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malawi ( Smea), a grouping of small businesses, has urged the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) to engage in sensitisation campaign to clarify issues relating to the Alternative Capital Market (ACM). The ACM otherwise known as the Alternative Exchange (AltX) offers opportunities to small businesses that cannot list on…